Card filing tray



Sept. 19, 1950 G. c. BRUEN CARD-FILING TRAY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 8, 1943 Zrzdezr? rum Deceas $601556. 3 h ea 57. (J0 (5mm p 1950 s. c. BRUEN 2,522,986

I CARD-FILING TRAY Original Filed Nov. 8, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT"; or-rice 2,522,986 CARD FILING TRAY Original application November s, 1943, serial No.

1946, Serial No. 664,940

Claims. (c1. 129- 16) v The present invention relates to card filing equipment, and particularly to the trays which carry reference or posting cards or the like for inspection and/ or storage.

This application is a division of the copending application of George C. Bruen, Serial No. 509,389 for Card Piling Equipment, filedNovemher 8, 1943, which, on July 15, 1947, issued as Letters Patent No. 2,424,144.

It is an object "of this invention to provide card trays adapted to the use of cards having a plurality of keyhole type slots in one edge and adapt- "ed to hold said cards in separable and linearly movable relationship, as well as securely, so that the trays may be tipped through various positions without loss or loosening of the cards.

Another object of the invention is to provide card supporting trays including removable card carrying bars and wherein the parts are constructed and arranged to give substantial support to the bars throughout their length and in a multiplicity of positions of the tray.

The invention has for a further objectthe provision of card trays adapted to support and ease of removal relative to card filing equipment, so

that entire trays may be either used as a part of said filing equipment or separated therefrom.

As another object, the invention comprehends the provision of improved forms of removable trays for card filing equipment which utilize a minimum amount of metal. I

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved card filing trays such that both the trays and the cards carried thereby may be conveniently and easily placed in position for reading and handling of the cards.

For a further object, the invention includes the provision of card filing trays having a combination of card supporting and carrying bars such that the cards may be filed therein in staggered relationship when desired for variations of reference and the like. I

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

' Iii the drawings: I I

Fig, 1 is a view in perspective of card filing equipment embodying the invention, illustrating its appearance when supported in a drawer adapted to movable in l it g n a; suitable enclosure;

Divided and this application April 25,

Fig. 2 is a perspeetive view of one form of the tray embodying my invention; I j

Fig. 3 is an end elevation'al cw in'pa tion which shows "details of constructioh tray depicted in Fig. 2; H v U Fig. 4 is afragmentary vertical sectihiial view which illustrates eerftaih details of the amount showman Fi .1; p

Fig. 5 is a siaeseenanal view orahotneriora of card carrying tray adapted to use on a meat had type of sutp rt y K 1 I v Fig. 6 is a perspective view oia removable card carrying tray which is fouhdillust'rated in F '7;

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 ofthe mo ified form of card carrying tray depicted in Fig. 6;

Fig. '8 is a sectional view taken substantially on a line 8-f-8'of Fig. 9 and illustrating the details of construction of a special tray particularly adapted to the support of cards in aligned or offset relationship one to the, other; and

Fig. 9 is a side sectionalview taken suntan tially hnaline 9+9 of Fig. 8; p

For exemplary purposes, theillustrative trays which are depicted in 'the drawings are shown in an adaptation to rotary filing equipment '31, though various types of carriers or enclosures a i s? a: the

1 might well be used therewith,

tags. 1 and" rdrega' ple, r newsprint illustrate a preferred type of filing equipment inwhich my ca r'd tray r embodied.

Referring generally to the structure therein iilustrated, a support and partial closure is proe vided by a drawer 28 havihg side walls 30 and end wens 3| and 32. File cards 31 are carried for ready access by a rotatable member 38 disposed within the drawer and'desirably eictei diiig up wardly above the top of the drawer; Projeetiiig below the bottom surface of the drawer and hear the cornersthereof are rollers 39 upon which the drawer is supported for movement into and out of a suitable housing or closure;

As depicted in Fig. 4, the rotatable member 38 is supported for rotation upon a; cylindrical shaft 48; which shaft is carried by the side wans ao of the drawer. In order to provide a, light and infexpensive structure, the rotatable member 38 may be constructed almost entirely from wood util hexagonal; anyinstaiic,

iz'ing polygonal end walls; such HI and I l pro: vided with central bores for receiving the sliaft 13.

In the partisan r'otatati'e member disclosed in Figs. 1 and 4; maidens 1U and'll are 2 the number 6f nae;

utilized on'a rotatable member of the type disclosed is "determined by the size of the cards which are to be carried thereby and also by the limits of the space within which the rotatable member is to be confined.

The end walls and. H are slotted at their corners, the rectangular slots 14 serving to receive partition frame members 15 of wood which project radially outwardly and are provided with elongated rectangular apertures 16 so as to form elongated pull bars 11 which serve as handles for the movement of the rotatable member by the operator.

In order to provide a plurality of bases for supporting trays which carry the cards 31, the end walls 78 and H, of the rotatable member have side walls 78 secured to their outer surfaces. The side walls 18 are rectangular in plan and have their edges 19 beveled, as shown in Fig. 4, and spaced sufiiciently to receive therebetween the partition members 15.

On each side and near the side walls 18, each partition member 15 carries a sheet metal guide 89 which preferably consists of a strip of sheet metal having :an attaching flange BI and a guiding flange- 82. I The flanges 8| and 82 are disposed at an obtuse angle relative to one another so that each guidingflange is substantially parallel to and spacedfrom acard-supporting base provided'by one of the side walls 18 of the rotatable member. Each side wall 18 of the .rotatable member and the guides 80 on the opposite sides thereof serve as supports for carrying card. carrying trays 83 of the type shownin Figs. 2 and 3. Referring to the preferred form of my card carrying tray illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, it has a substantially plain or fiat base 84 which may be made of wood, plywood or the like. At opposite ends of the base 84 and secured thereto are end .vvallmembers 85 and 86 which, together with thebase .84, are adapted to carry card-supporting bars 81, which bars extend longitudinally betweenthe end wall members and are laterally spaced in substantially parallel relationship. On ,opp-osite sidesand opening outwardly, the base 84 isprovided with longitudinally extending slots or channels 88 which also extend through the end wall members 85 and 86 to receive the guide flanges 82 of the guide members an on the rotatable support 38. The illustrated card carrying tray 83,.having a base 84 suited in size to the 'side walls 18 of, the rotatable member and having the longitudinally extending channels 88 which engagethe guide flanges 82, is placed in position upon the rotatable member by sliding the tray endwise between the partition members 15. By thisstructure and arrangement of parts, a card carrying tray may be slid endwise to a projecting position on the rotatable member 38 for convenience in use or may be easily removed from the :rotatable member for use at a different or moreconvenient place.

Referring to Fig. 3,'the preferred form of card carrying bar 81 has a sectional shape such that it-comprises a. substantially cylindrical and longitudinally extending upper bead 81a, a substantially cylindrical and longitudinally extending-lower bead 81b which is preferably smaller than the upper bead, and an integrally formed andrelatively thin intervening web 810 connecting the beads.

The base 84 is provided with parallel and 1ongitudinally extending channels 90 which open upwardly of the base and are adapted slidably to receive the beads 87b of the card carrying bars.

Desirably, and to provide support for the bars 81 throughout their lengths when turned to various positions with cards mounted thereon, the upper edge portions of the channels 98 are restricted by flanges 9| to an extent such that the open edges of the channels slidably confine the web portions 810 of the bars and are narrower than the beads 81b thereof. The web portions 810 of the bars 81 extend upwardly from the base to an extent such that the beads 81a are in spaced and parallel relationship to the surface of the base and desirably support cards such as 31 in spaced relationship to the base.

The end wall member 85 has apertures 92 which are aligned longitudinally with the channels 99 in the base and are of a size such that the bars 81 may be slid endwise into the channels through those apertures. At the other end of the tray, the end wall member 85 has recesses 93 therein which are aligned with the channels to receive and provide stops for the endwise movement of the bars 81 toward that end wall member.

When the bars 87 are fully inserted into the channels and their ends extend into the recesses or sockets 93 in the end wall member 85, their length is such that their opposite ends extend into the apertures 92 of the end wall member 86. In the form disclosed in Figs. 2 and 3, the card carrying bars 8'! are releasably held in place by a pair of apertured metal plates and 99 mounted on suitable holding means such as wood screws 94. The end wall serves as a base for slidably supporting the plates 95 and 96, and the screws 94 extend through suitable slots 98 which extend longitudinally of the plates and transversely relative to the apertures 92 in the end wall. A compression spring 99 is disposed between outwardly turned flanges we on the adjacent ends of theplates 95 and 96 to bias the plates to a latching position, such as that shown in Fig. 3, in which ends of the plates extend across the apertures 92 and the ends of the bars 81. The adjacent flanges I89 on the plates 95 and 98 serve as grips which may be manually pressed together against the biasing force of the spring 99 to retract the plates from their latching positions across the ends'of the bars 81. When thus retracted, the card carrying bars may be slid endwise from the trays.

The card carrying trays disclosed herein are adapted to carry cards of the type shown in Fig. 8, which cards have substantially keyhole shaped slots [8| along one edge thereof. The slots llll fit over the beads 81a of card carrying bars, such as 81 in Figs. 2 and 3, and grip the bars so as to stay in position even when the trays are moved to various positions, including the completely inverted position, as when a tray is at the bottom of the rotatable member 38. In the card carrying tray disclosed in Figs. 2 and 3, two card carrying bars 81 are used so that uniformly punched cards 31 are carried thereby in aligned positions.

In the modification of the invention which is disclosed in Fig. 8, the structure of the tray is generally similar to that disclosed in Figs. 2 and 3, except that five of the bars 87 are employed and are supported in substantially parallel relationship and are uniformly spaced laterally. With this arrangement of the bars and with properly slotted cards, the cards may be supported in a normal position equidistantly being to thespacingbetween the bars 81. When in the normal position; as indicated by the card 31a; the three intermediate bars 61 support the card, while the staggered relationship of cards is accomplished by their being supported on the three bars at one sideor the other of theitray.

Thus,cards, such as 311; and 31c, are offset from 9 thosernormally aligned along themid-portion' of the tray for some special purpose or to indicate that those oifest cards require some special attention, suchas making entries thereon or copying records therefrom.

Fig. 9 shows a slightly varied form of tray'in which the general construction is the same as that of either of the previouslydescribed modifications but the bars 81 are held in place by a wooden strip I'I. This wooden strip has beveled edges I08 and I09 which provide its body section with a dovetailed form forfitting a comple-r inentary dovetailed slot I III in theend wall member 86. In the'assembly of the bars 81' with the tray, the bars are confined between the sockets 1 93in the end wall member 85 andthe strip IOI which closes the outer end of the apertures 92 in the end wall member 06. v, H

To effect removal of the bars 81, the dovetailed strip I01 is slid endwise out of'the slot H0, The

" bar 87 may then be removed from the tray through the apertures 92. l

Although the bars of the type shown in Figs. 2, 3, 8 and 9 may be made .of metal, they are preferably made of'plastic material which may be extruded to the desired sectional shape in strips, and then cut to the necessary length. Plastic material has been found to be particularly satisfactory for the tray constructionshown, not only because it is light and relatively inexpensive, but also because the slot structure of the tray base provides effective reinforcement throughout the length of each bar.

In order to hold trays of the type shown in Figs. 2, 3, 8 and 9 in a centrally disposed position relative to the rotatable member 38, each such tray is provided with a partially spherical socket I60 in its lower surface, as shown in Fig. 4. Each of the side walls I8 is provided with a spring urged detentincluding a ball I6I slidable and partially confined in a metal tube I62 and pressed outwardly to a projecting position by a compression spring I63. The edges of the tube I62 at its open end'are curved inwardly tolimit the outward movement of theball. When a tray is slid into position relative to a side wall I8 of the rotatable member and between the guides 80, the ball I6I snaps into the socket I60 when the central position isreached and thereby holds the tray in that position until sufficient force is applied to one end to force the ball into the tube against the biasing forceof the spring I63. v

In the modified form ofcard carrying tray shown in Fig. 5,- a base II2is mounted directly upon end walls III of the rotatable member and and H4 which may be made of wood; and desirably presents outwardly diverging and opposed card-supporting surfaces facing toward one another. In addition to serving as end supports for cards, such as N5, the tray ends I I3 and H4 also support the ends of card carrying rods H6. The outward divergence of the inner surfaces of the ends 3 andv I I4 supports the cards I I5 which are carried by the rods I I6 in a slanting position for ease of inspection.

Each of the rods II6 has an end supported in a socket II9 extending into the end wall H4 in a direction substantially parallel to the base H2. The other end wall I I3 slidably carries a plunger I having sockets I2I in the end thereof for receiving the other ends of the rods H6. The plunger I20 is slidable in a bore I22 and is biased toward the rod engaging position by a compression spring I23, which compression spring is interposed between a surface of the plunger and a plate I24 secured to theouter surface of the end wall H3. The plunger I20 carries on its outer'end a knob I25 which may be gripped by the user to move the plunger and effect release of the ends of the rods I I6.

In the particular form of card tray disclosed, the end walls I I3 and H4 are wedge shape so that when they are asembled upon the rotatable member,* their edges adjoin to form a complete rim on the periphery of each end surface of the rotatable member.

In the modified form of card tray disclosed in Figs. 6 and 7, the rotary member is similar in construction to that shown in Fig. 5. However, this tray utilizes a separate card carrying element or tray I29 which may be made of metal,

fabric or plastic. This separate or inner tray I29 supports card carrying rods I30 which in turn carry cards such as I3I.

The card carrying tray I29 has a flat base portion I32 at the opposite ends of which are integrally formed and upwardly diverging flanges I33 and I34. The upward divergence or slope of the flanges I33 and I34 corresponds to the slope of the inner surfaces of the end walls I35 and I36 of the tray carrying, portion of the rotatable member. At each end ears I3'I are punched out of the flanges I33 and I34 and lie in the plane of thebase I32. These ears I31 project endwise from the tray and at one end are adapted to fit beneath a flanged edge I 38 of a metal holding strip I39 secured to a wall I49 of the rotatable member.

' At the opposite end of the tray I29, the ears I3'I are engaged and held in place by a spring pressed sheet metal bar I65. On its outer end the bar I65 has a handle I66 which may be gripped to withdraw the bar from its position of engagement with'the ears I31 on the tray. Also, near its outer end, the bar I65 has an aperture therein through which athin leaf spring I68 extends.

The end of the spring is secured to the outer surcarried thereby. The base I'I2 '0f the tray has .securedto its ends adjacent the end walls of the face of the end wall I36 and it urges the bar I65 into the latching position shown in Fig. 7.

At opposed and laterally spaced positions, the

- flanges I33 and I34 have apertures MI and I42 therein for receiving the ends of the card carrying bars I30. At each end the bars are gripped and held in position by resilient strips of sheet metal I43 and I44 secured to the flanges I33 and I34 adjacent the apertures. Also, the end surfacesof the'end walls I35 and I36 are recessed at I45 and. I46 to receive the projecting ends of card carrying rods I30. The shape of the recesses I45 and I46 is such that when the bar I is withdrawn from its latching position, the tray I29 and the cards carried thereby may be removed together from the rotatable member.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustrated, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is not intended that the invention is to be limited to the precise details of the construction set forth, but shall include all of the changes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the present invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a card filing equipment adapted to permit'the location of predetermined cards in ofiset relation, a tray comprising a plane body portion carrying a pair of end walls, said body portion having longitudinally extending slots, and said end walls having recesses for receiving a plurality of card-supporting bars, the recesses in one 'end wall being sockets open at the inner end, and the recesses in the other wall being through bores, said latter wall having a longitudinally extending slot traversing its recesses, and said slot being under-cut at its side walls, and a closure member of complementary shape adapted to be slid into said latter slot for retaining said bars in said tray.

2. In a card filing equipment adapted to permit the location of predetermined cards in offset relation, a tray comprising a plane body portion carrying a pair of end walls, said body portion having longitudinally extending slots, and said end walls having recesses for receiving a plurality of card-supporting bars, the recesses in one end wall being sockets open at the inner end, and the recesses in the other wall being through bores, said latter wall having a longitudinally extending slot traversing its recesses,.and said slot being under-cut at its side walls, and a closure member of complementary shape adapted to be slid into said latter slot for retaining said bars in said tray, said tray being provided with a plurality of bars comprising two additional bars, one on each side of the bars required to hold the cards in a stack, whereby a plurality of specially selected cards may be located in offset relation, the cards having regularly spaced bar apertures, and the bars being regularly spaced.

3. In a card tray for card filing equipment the combination comprising a base member having substantially parallel and longitudinally extending channels therein opening upwardly of the base member, the open edges of said channels being restricted to narrower sections than the inner portions thereof, said base having end wall portions at opposite ends thereof, one of said end wall portions having through openings aligned with said channels and the other having sockets aligned with the other ends of the channels, card supporting bars each having relatively thin longitudinally extending mid-sectional portions adapted slidably to fit between said edges of the channels, said card supporting bars also having beads of wider section than the mid-sectional portion extending longitudinally along opposite edges thereof, one of said beads being of greater width than the space between said edges of the channels and adapted slidably to fit into one of said channels with the mid-sectional portion projecting outwardly between said edges, whereby said base engages said one of.-the beads alongv the length of the bar in various positions of the tray adequately to support the bar, each of said bars normally extending into one of said sockets and one of said through openings in the end wall portions, and releasable means for holding the bars in place relative to the base.

4. In a card tray for card filing equipment adapted to the use of cards having substantially keyhole shaped slots in one edge, the combination comprising a base member having a longitudinally extendin channel therein opening upwardly of the base member, the open edges of said channel being restricted to narrower sections than the inner portion thereof, said base having end wall portions at opposite ends thereof, one of said end wall portions having a through opening and the other having a socket aligned with the ends of the channel, a card-supporting bar having a relatively thin longitudinally extending mid-sectional portion adapted slidably to fit between said edges of the channel, said card-supporting bar also having beads of wider section than the mid-sectional portion extending longitudinally along opposite edges thereof, one of said beads being of greater width than the space between said edges of the channel and slidably fitting into said channel to support the bar with the other bead and a part of the midsectional portion extending outwardly from the base to fit into the keyhole shaped slots of said cards, said bar being slidable into said channel endwise through said through opening in one of the end wall portions to a position such that one end extends into said socket in the other end wall, and releasable means for retaining the bar in place relative to the base.

5. In a card tray for card filing equipment adapted to the use of cards which have a predetermined number of slots in spaced relationship along one edge thereof, the combination comprising a base member having a pluralit of substantially parallel and longitudinally extending channels therein opening upwardly of the base, the open edges of said channels being restricted to narrower sections than the inner portions thereof, the number and spacing of said channels bein related to the number and spac ing of the slots in said cards, card supporting bars slidable endwise into said channels, the lateral sections of said bars including interme diate webs slidable in the narrower open edges of the slots and longitudinally extending beads, one of each of which is slidable in the inner portion of one of the slots and the other of which is in spaced relationship to the base, and means secured to the base for retaining the bars at one end, andreleasable means at the other end of the base for normally retaining the other ends of the bars.

SOPHIE E. BRUEN, Executria; of the Last Will and Testament of George C. Bruen, Deceased.

REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 373,279 Fezandie Nov. 15, 1887 873,305 Eckart Dec. 10, 1907 1,011,743 Chedester Dec. 12, 1911 1,362,310 Hiller et al. Dec. 14, 1920 1,568,202 Ball Jan. 5, 1926 2,240,325 Bruen Apr. 29, 1941 2,332,605 Scholfield Oct. 26, 1943 2,340,862 Bruen Feb. 8, 1944 

